Bigfoot is characterized as a large, bipedal creature covered in hair with long arms, toned muscles, and an appearance representing a combination of man and ape. The question of how such a species could exist alongside ours without having been discovered by our scientific community is baffling to many; individuals tend to boast that if this creature ever did exist, it must be extinct by now, otherwise we would have discovered it. However, we are not lending this creature’s intelligence, and possible origins enough credit. Today we take a walk back through time; we will dissect the evolution of apes and man to discover clues about how a man-like species might survive as long as us, without directly competing and remaining elusive. How did it get here, and how intelligent could it be? We will piece together the characteristics of Ardipithecus, Paranthropus, and Australopithecus to determine which branch of bipedal man and ape-like creatures Bigfoot may have descended from. Ardipithecus was the very first ape species to walk bipedally. They are the closest link we have to primates. This species was rather small and primitive, so Bigfoot stemming off of this branch is unlikely.
The next two groups of evolved human-like species were Australopithecus and Paranthropus. These groups both walked upright but differed in some characteristics. For example, Paranthropus aethiopicus had large megadont teeth and a very strong jaw. Perhaps the most important feature to note on this species was a developed sagittal crest (slightly pointed head at the top of the skull) which allowed for huge chewing muscles. Since the muscles that connected toward the back of the crest were so strong, these creatures were able to chew very well with their front teeth. Unfortunately, very few remains of this species have been found. Just like other creatures from the Paranthropus genus, Paranthropus boisei had adaptations for strong chewing. A prominent sagittal crest on the midline of the top of the skull connected large chewing muscles from the top and side of the braincase to the lower jaw. This anatomy moved the species’ jaw up and down very mechanically. This creature had huge cheek teeth four-times the size of a modern human’s and the thickest dental enamel of any known early human. Because of their sagittal crest and larger cranial capacity, this species had a fast-growing brain. Remember, food equals intelligence in the equation of evolution.

The Australopithecine group was known for land and tree-dwelling, with adaptations for both walking and climbing. These creatures had traits of both humans and apes. For example, Australopithecus anamensis has a shin bone showing a human-like placement of the ankle joint, which points to frequent bipedalism. However, their long arms and strong wrist bones indicate their climbing abilities which likely lasted close to 1 million years. These multi-functional limbs supporting walking and climbing were also found in Australopithecus africanus, whose round cranium housed a large brain, and Australopithecus afarensis, whose children matured quickly after birth. Australopithecus afarensis is one of the longest-lived and best-known early human species, surviving for more than 900,000 years (four times as long as our own species has been around.) Perhaps their land and tree adaptations allowed them to excel and sustain as a species for so long. After Australopithecus and alongside the Paranthropus group came Homo. 
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In 1928, a miraculous discovery of a sub-species of human took place in the desert peninsula of Peru. Peruvian archeologist Julio Tello uncovered an intricate 3,000 year old graveyard of 300 skulls belonging to the Paracas people. There was something very unique about these remains; the skulls were 25% larger and 60% heavier than modern human skulls, and the differences don’t stop there. After DNA analysis of hair, skin, teeth, and fragments of cranial bones, scientists determined that the mitochondrial DNA, inherited from the mother, showed mutations that were unknown to any man or animal found on Earth. Scientists set out to discover the origins of these Natives, and ended up concluding that they weren’t actually Native Americans at all. In order to be 100% Native American, the Paracas people would have had to have a blood type O, which turned out to account for the lowest percentage of skulls found. Most skulls contained B and A-B blood types, with a mix of geographic heritage, making it hard for scientists to pinpoint their initial geographic origin. The skulls also had a different jaw structure. The mutations present in the samples along with the varying blood types lead researchers to conclude that they were facing a completely new ‘human-like being,’ possessing extremely different characteristics and DNA from Homo sapiens, Neanderthals or Denisovans.
 
Many researchers debate whether Bigfoot is an ape or a human, however we must be more open-minded. We, as humans, tend to classify things into categories that we are comfortable with in order to make sense of the world. Perhaps we must change our views and see things differently. Bigfoot may not be ape or human at all, but a human-like species (similar to the Paracas people) that evolved separately from our own, and developed into a completely new group of individuals with a higher intelligence and skillset than ours. Interestingly, the craniums of Bigfoot are described by witnesses to be slightly pointed, creating a dome-like shape at the top of the head. This characteristic sounds strangely similar to the Paracas people of Peru. Perhaps this trait is an adaptation of some sort, in order to communicate with frequencies or even house a more complex brain. We may never know the answer to why the Paracas’ skulls are shaped the way they are, and we may never discover their origins either. However, as researchers, we can conclude that their unique characteristics and unusual DNA classify them as a different species than Homo Sapien. Today, science continues to uncover physical evidence that suggests that we were not the only intelligent, bipedal individuals that (CLICK READ MORE BUTTON)

​Sasquatch, Canada
The word Sasquatch is derived from the Coast Salish tribe’s language; specifically the word, Sasq’ets, meaning “wild man” or “hairy man.” J.W. Burns established the term “Sasquatch” in the 1930s when he acted as an Indian agent assigned to the Chehalis Band, otherwise known as the Sts’ailes First Nation. The Sts’ailes people claim a close bond with Sas’qets, and believe it has the ability to switch from the physical to the spiritual world.
 
In 1884, an article regarding Sasquatch was published in Victoria’s British Colonist. It is known as the earliest documented evidence of a Sasquatch sighting. The article follows the quest of local village men chasing down and capturing a “half man, half beast” near Yale, British Columbia. When villagers found the creature near a set of railroad tracks, they nicknamed it “Jacko.” After waking the creature from unconsciousness, they chased it all the way to a set of bluffs above the town. The men were said to have corralled “Jacko” onto a rock shelf and rendered him unconscious with the toss of a rock. Two days later, the newspaper ran a letter to J.B. Good, former superintendent of the Lytton Indian Mission. Good wrote that similar stories of “wild men of the woods” had been told by indigenous groups that encountered such creatures while out hunting. During the summer of 2011, a British Columbia man shot a video showing a possible Sasquatch traveling swiftly up a mountain range in the Tantalus Mountains near Squamish.
 
Sasquatch is reported to range between 6-9ft tall and is covered in thick black or brown hair.
 
Bigfoot, United States
The first mention of the name, "Bigfoot" can be traced back to a construction worker named Jerry Crew who presented a plaster cast of a huge footprint he had found in Bluff Creek Valley to a local newspaper office in Northern California. He reported strange activity and huge tracks around the construction site; causing Crew and his buddies to nickname the creature, “Bigfoot.” On October 5, 1958, The Humbolt Times printed his story accompanied by a picture of him holding up the footprint cast, which spanned more than half the length of his upper body. The title of the article read: "New 'Sasquatch' found - it's called Bigfoot." Once published, the name took off and became the coined term for the creature.  
 
Bigfoot is reported to range between 6-9ft tall and is covered in thick black or brown hair. (Click Read More)